How to Win at Ecommerce Link Building: Strategies That Work

The e-commerce market is expected to be worth $8 trillion by 2027, and with over 26.5 million online stores fighting for attention, you can't afford to ignore backlinks. Similarly, when high-quality sites link to yours, search engines see this as proof that your content is trustworthy and valuable. You don't need a massive budget for ecommerce link building.

High-quality backlinks drive organic traffic, establish your authority, enhance brand credibility, and improve your overall SEO performance. This blog covers strategies that work specifically for online stores. You'll learn techniques to overcome the unique challenges ecommerce sites face and build a backlink profile that drives qualified traffic and boosts your rankings.

Why Ecommerce Link Building Seems Difficult?

Building backlinks for ecommerce or online stores isn't the same as link building for other websites. Understanding these differences is important for developing strategies that work. Research shows that product and category pages aren't naturally linkable assets. 

Unlike informational blog posts or guides, sharing product pages rarely adds value to the linking page. Google's recent site reputation abuse spam policy has made reputable site owners even more cautious about linking to commercial websites.

The difference between product and content pages

Product pages serve a completely different purpose than content pages, making them less appealing for backlinks. Most e-commerce websites consist of several page types:

• Homepage

• Category/subcategory pages

• Product listing pages (PLP)

• Product detail pages (PDP)

• Blog content

7 Ecommerce Link Building Strategies

Here are seven strategies that work specifically for ecommerce seo link building.

1. Create keyword-targeted blog content

Your product pages won't naturally attract backlinks, but your blog content can. Target search terms related to your products and create guides that other sites want to reference. For example, you sell surfboards. 

A detailed guide on "best surfboards for beginners" could attract links from surfing schools, gear review sites, and related businesses. In Content marketing, expect 3–12 months to see results.

2. Use HARO to become a source

Help a Reporter Out (HARO) connects journalists with industry experts. Sign up as a source, and you'll get daily emails with reporters' questions. When you provide helpful responses, publications often quote you and link to your website.

This strategy can land you backlinks from major outlets like Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

3. Launch a creative digital PR campaign

Get creative with your PR, and you can generate results for ecommerce link building. Fashion brand Misguided ran a clever PR campaign that secured 60 backlinks, thousands of social media links, and five-figure revenue.

All you have to do is create engaging content tied to your products, then pitch the story to journalists for coverage. The key is making your story newsworthy and relevant to their audience.

4. Ask suppliers and partners for backlinks

If you're a reseller or retailer, reach out to your suppliers and distributors who maintain "where to buy" lists. You've already got established relationships with these vendors, so requesting a backlink is usually straightforward. Also, contact other business partners like:

• Web developers who built your site

• Photographers who shot your products

• Advertising agencies you work with

• Service providers you use

5. Design and share infographics

Infographics attract 30 times more readers than text-only articles and can boost website traffic by 12%. These visual assets are naturally shareable and often earn backlinks.

Create infographics that present data or processes related to your products in a visually appealing way. When other sites find your infographic valuable, they'll embed it with a link back to your site.

6. Replace broken competitor links

Link building for ecommerce is a smart way to turn your competitors' success into your opportunity. Find broken links pointing to competitor sites, then reach out to the site owner, suggesting your content as a replacement.

This strategy works because you're solving a problem for the site owner while securing a backlink for yourself. Look for external links that aren't working, recently removed links, or current competitor links. You're essentially using your competitors' link-building efforts to improve your profile.

7. Get listed on resource and roundup pages

Resource pages exist specifically to link out to valuable content in your niche. For e-commerce sites, these are typically "best product" articles or buying guides. Find relevant resource pages by searching terms like: 

• [product] resources

• best [product]

• [topic] roundup

How to Find Opportunities for Ecommerce Link Building

You can't build backlinks without knowing where to get them. Success comes from identifying the right targets and focusing your efforts on opportunities that matter.

Use backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush

Both Ahrefs and SEMrush can help you discover link opportunities, but they work differently. Semrush has a larger link index with 43 trillion backlinks compared to Ahrefs' 35 trillion, which gives you more detailed data. However, Ahrefs provides unique reports like broken backlinks and linking authors that Semrush doesn't offer.

Here's how they compare:

• Ahrefs: Excels at backlink auditing with a clean, intuitive interface that makes it easy to analyze competitor backlinks.

• SEMrush: Offers dedicated link-building tools and toxicity assessment features that help you avoid bad links.

Identify high-authority domains in your niche

Focus on websites with strong authority scores. When you're looking for MOZ Domain Authority, Ahrefs Domain Rating, or SEMrush Authority Score, here's what to aim for:

• 60-100: Excellent targets that can significantly boost your rankings

• 40-50: Good targets worth pursuing

• Below 40: Proceed with caution and evaluate carefully

Look for these quality signals to grow ecommerce link building:

• Steady organic traffic patterns

• Active user engagement (comments, social shares)

• Clean reputation with no spam flags

• Content that's relevant to your industry

Track unlinked brand mentions

Unlinked mentions are easy to spot. These websites already know your brand; they just need a gentle nudge to add a link. Use tools like Brand24, Google Alerts, or BuzzSumo to monitor mentions of:

• Your brand name

• Product names

• Service offerings

• Your website address

• Leadership team names

Evaluate link quality vs. quantity

One high-authority backlink beats dozens of low-quality links. Google's algorithms have gotten much better at recognizing spam, so focus on quality over volume. When evaluating potential opportunities, prioritize based on:

1. Domain authority/rating

2. Relevance to your niche

3. Traffic quality and volume

4. Content quality and freshness

How to Promote Linkable Assets For Ecommerce Link Building

Creating great content is just the beginning in link building for ecommerce. You need to promote your linkable assets to secure backlinks. Your promotion strategy makes the difference between content that gets noticed and content that gets ignored.

1. Build genuine relationships before asking for links: The most successful ecommerce link building happens through relationships, not cold outreach. Start by identifying bloggers and journalists who write about topics related to your products.

2. Amplify your content through social media and email: Social media doesn't create direct backlinks, but it puts your content in front of potential linkers. The more people see your linkable assets, the higher your chances of earning natural backlinks. Engaging visuals perform particularly well on social platforms and help maintain user attention.

3. Make your outreach emails impossible to ignore: Generic outreach emails get deleted. Whereas personalized ones get responses. Craft subject lines that include their name or reference their recent content to boost open rates by up to 26%. 

4. Follow up strategically without being annoying: Most people won't respond to your first email. Don't send more than one or two follow-ups. 

Wrapping Up

For ecommerce link building, focus on quality over quantity. One high-authority backlink from a relevant site beats dozens of low-quality links that do nothing for your rankings. Start with the strategies that match your current resources. Maybe that's reaching out to suppliers for "where to buy" listings, or creating your first keyword-targeted blog post. 

You don't need to tackle everything at once. These smart strategies for e-commerce link building can help online stores improve their search rankings and increase sales. All you have to do is be patient, focus on expertise, and take the right approach. 

FAQ

What do you mean by ecommerce?

E-commerce (Electronic Commerce) refers to the buying and selling of goods or services over the Internet. It includes all kinds of commercial transactions conducted electronically, shopping for clothes, paying for a subscription, or selling digital downloads.

What are the 3 types of e-commerce?

3 types of ecommerce are: 

• B2C (Business to Consumer): A business sells directly to individual consumers.

• B2B (Business to Business): Transactions between businesses.

• C2C (Consumer to Consumer): Individuals sell directly to other individuals.

What are the top 5 e-commerce websites?

The top 5 E-commerce Websites are: 

• Amazon: The largest online retailer globally, offering everything from books to electronics and groceries.

• Alibaba / AliExpress: Dominates the B2B and international retail markets, especially in Asia.

• eBay: A major platform for C2C and B2C transactions, auctions, and collectables.

• Walmart: Competes strongly with Amazon in North America through its robust online store.

• Shopify (via Shopify-powered stores): Not one site, but a massive ecosystem powering millions of individual online stores.